Jon Charles is known for staying ahead of trends. Long before blow dry bars started popping up in the Twin Cities, Charles was offering the express shampoo, blow dry and styling service at his two namesake metro-area salons.

Now, he’s staying ahead of the curb with HairStream, a mobile salon (an Airstream, no less!) that travels everywhere from Stillwater to Shafer, Minn., to offer blow out and styling services for weddings, proms and other gatherings.

“It’s bringing the salon to them,” Charles says.

At least three other fashion mobiles exist in the Twin Cities — one selling women’s apparel, another featuring home decor and furniture, and a third offering airbrush tanning and eyelash-extension services. But the hair salon on wheels is believed to be the first of its kind.

Charles says a mobile salon allows him to offer unique services that wouldn’t be possible in a bricks-and-mortar space. For events such as nuptials, his crew can follow a wedding party from site to site.

“It lets us be there to touch up their hair throughout the day,” he says.

Depending on the services needed and the size of the party, HairStream can cost anywhere from $400 to $2,000.

On a recent Saturday, a bridal party booked HairStream for blow out and styling services. Wedding-party members took turns, three stationed inside the mobile unit at a time. The women got a blow out and had their tresses styled.

Still, a business wouldn’t be a business without the occasional glitch. While the wedding party was having their hair styled, there was a delay when the electricity shut off because the generator shut down. Charles said it was the first time there’s been a hitch since he started the business last winter, and it was corrected by pressing a restart button on the generator.

Once back up and running, stylists finished the hairdos and followed the wedding party throughout the day to touch up tresses for things like wedding photos and the ceremony.

“That’s the beauty of this thing,” Charles says. “It goes anywhere, and it carries all the equipment we need.”

Nancy Ngo is a Minnesota Native who grew up reading the Pioneer Press, so it’s fitting that she would one day work for them. She is a three time Society of Professional Journalists Page One Award winner. Before covering food and lifestyle, she has previously covered government and public safety. She has served on boards including the Asian American Journalists Association and The University of Minnesota’s The School of Journalism and Mass Communication Alumni Society Board.

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